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(No Model.)` 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' W. J. BONIFAGE.

` PILE CASE 0R GABINBT.

No. 562,352.' Patented June 16, 1896.

WITNESSE 5. u y INYENT'OR.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet. 3.

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'.No. 562,352. Patented June 16, 1896.

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' PILE GASE 0R. CABINET.

No. 562,352. Patented June 16, 1896.

. ATTORN EY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM JOHN BONIFACE, `OF SOUTI-IAMPTON, ENGLAND.

FILEpCASE OR CABINET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 562,352, dated June 16, 1896.

Application filed July 3, 1394. Serial No. 516.515. (No model.) l

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, WILLIAM JOHN BONI- EAGE, cabinet-manufacturer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at l Anglesea Place, Southampton, in the county of Hants, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in File Cases or Cabinets; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention.

This invention relates to file cases or cabinets of the kind wherein a number of letter or other paper document files provided with suitable indexes are fitted in compartments in the case or cabinet.

The object of this invention is to construct file-cabinets of the kind above described in such manner that a cabinet for containing a given number of files shall occupy less door or wall space and be arranged more conveniently for reference than a file-cabinet for lcontaining the same number of files as heretofore constructed.

In use for ling ordinary papers the documents at the tail end of the le are approximately only one-half the thickness of the documents at the clip end. I take advantage of this fact to economize space in my filecabinet.

. In the accompanying drawings, Which are furnished in illustration of my invention, Fig* ures 1 and 2 are vertical sections, taken at right angles to each other, of a file-cabinet constructed in accordance with this invention and iitted in a pedestal outer case. Fig. Iln is a detail of one of the iiles. Figs. 3 to 5 shovsT details of construction, and Figs. 6 and 7 shovT modifications, all of which will be more fully explained hereinafter.

The same letters of reference Where they occur in the several iigures are used to indicate the same or corresponding parts.

In a suitable shell or outer case D, I journal a skeleton drum or cage A, made in the shape of aradial paddle-Wheel or a segment thereof. This drum or cage I make sufficiently large to accommodate the files O which are placed therein, the compartments B between the su ccessive radii or partitions b being made of such size that the les fit snugly thereinto and in such position that the documents filed lie in the plane containing the axis of the drum or cage with the clip ends of the files at or near the circumference of the said drinn or cage, as shown partially Withdrawn from the drum or cage in Fig. l.

The file C consists of a simple board oc, having at the end which is pointed toward the axle of the cage a projection y, to Which is fastened at one end a spring s, the other end pressing upon the board This spring therefore serves to keep down any papers Which are inserted between it and the board. At the outer end of the board fr, measured from the center of the cage, is a Wire clip o, upon which each paper :is pressed and punctured by the said Wire c, in the manner Well known in the art. y c

To prevent the files falling out of the coinpartments B, I secure to the outer case or shell D the arc-shaped boards E E in a position between the disks a a, forming the vertical Walls or faces of the drum orcage A, (see Fig. 2,) or, on the outer edge of each partition b I may secure a spring device such as is shown in Fig. 3, which consists of an ordinary spring h', secured to the under side of the partition and having a coiled or turnedup end b2, which abuts against the outer edge c of the base c of the file when. the latter is in place. To Withdraw the file, it is only necessary to turn the spring device down into the dotted position shown in Fig. 3, when the file can be Withdrawn thereover. I may use this spring device in conjunction With the arcshaped boards F. E if found convenient, or I may adopt any other device or arrangement Which Will effect the desired object.

In Fig. l the outer case or shell D com* pletely incloses the rotatable vdrum or cage A and is furnished With a lock-up door F, to Which the files are successively brought by the rotation of the drum or cage. Secured to the axle of the drum or cage or to the drum itself When the latter rotates over a fixed axis, and outside the case or shellD, is an indicator corresponding with the labels on the various files or When the latter are not labeled the indicator serves as an index to the les. When any given file is required, the drum or cap is rotated by a handle or other suitable device until the index-symbol of the desired ile is brought to a given position when the desired file is brought to the aper- IOO ture G in the outer case or shell D, formed by the open door F.

To stop the rotation of the drum or cage when the required ille is brought to the door F, I prefer to adopt the arrangement shown in Fig. 4, which is an enlarged elevation of the outer case or shell D, showing the indi eating device in position. Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 0c m of Fig. 4. It will be seen that the indicating devicerconsists, primarily, of a disk K, which is fixed by means of the distance-disks CZ cl2 to the side ct of the drum. The disk is metal-bound and rotates against the friction-rollers R, which are secured to the outer case or shell D. To the disk K is fixed a face-ring K2, divided into a number of equal parts corresponding with the number of` compartments B in the drum or cage shown in Fig. l. Each division of the face-ring K2 has an index-symbol having reference to a given iile and between every two succeeding divisions a locking-plate H is pivoted or hinged. One of these lockingplates is shown opened out on the left side of Fig. 5. The normal position of the locking-plate is at right angles to the ring K2, as shown most clearly at the bottom of Fig. 5. A plate J is attached to the casingD in front of which plate the member K revolves. At a suitable point in the casingD and the plate J a slot L is formed, into which any desired locking-plate can be turned on its pivot 71,2, thus locking the member K and the drum or cagewith any desired le opposite the opening to permit withdrawal.

h2 is the pivot of the plate H, and h3 is a knob or finger-piece by means of which the said platevcan be turned on its pivot and the disk K and consequently the drum or cage to which it is secured by means of the disks CZ d2 thereby rotated. In the outer ring J is the slot L above referred to,which slot is in line with the door F, vand when the locking-plate H arrives at said slot the rib or projection h is pushed thereinto, thus stopping further rotation of the drum or cage A. This construction has been found very advantageous for the reason that in rotating the drum by means of .the plates H the point 7L canbe pressed against the ring J and thus serving as a brake, prevents the too rapid rotation of thefdrum or cage, which otherwise might acquire too great momentum. For the same purpose, if required, I may in addition provide a friction-brake in the interior of the outer case or shell D.

I may construct the outer case or shell so that it only partially incloses the rotatable drum or cage, in which case no indicating device would be required as the labels on the files could beseen by the operator as they were successively brought into View. The shape or conguration of the outer case or shell is not essential to my invention, all that is necessary being that it shall support the rotatable drum or cage. Sometimes I t the rotatable drum in an ordinary cylinder writing-table, as shown in Fig. 6, when the outer case D,.supporting the axle of the drum or cage, forms part of the writing-table- In this construction a wheel-segment drum or cage may bc used.`

Fig. 7 shows part of a modified form of pedestal writing-table wherein my drum iile-cabinet is arranged to rotate on a vertical axis in two tiers rotating together or. separately as desired.

A tile vcase or cabinet such as is herein described may be used as an indicator in connection with a library, the radial compartments in t-he rotatable drum or cage having filed therein tabs or labels corresponding to the books or volumes on the shelves of the library, so that the case or cabinet will serve as an index to the books or volumes on the various shelves, &c., of the library.

Vhat I claim is 1. A file case or cabinet, consisting of a drum made with radial compartments to receive the files, and mounted in an outer case so as to be rotatable, a circular indicator having labels, corresponding to labels on the iiles and carried by the axle ofv` the drum on the outside of the box, a ring fixed upon the box and concentric to the indicator, and having a slot, locking-plates pivoted at each indicating-character on the indicator and hinged thereto and adapted to be turned into and out of the slot, for the purpose hereinbefore described.

2. Aholder for the collection of documents, consisting of a rotary cellular wheel A, having compartments radiating from the center, a plate K with a ring K2, divided into equal divisions,corresponding with the number of said compartments, and said plate havingvas many locking-plates H, pivoted in notches at its rim as there are compartments, the said locking-plates being rotary through an angle of ninety degrees, projections upon the locking-plates, and a ring J, having a single slot for receiving any one of the said projections and located against the said plate K,which latter is rigidly secured to the axle of the wheel A.

WILLIAM JOHN BONIFACE.

Vitnesses:

ALBERT LOWE, ARTHUR CULvERwELL.

IIOl 

